Capitalism is Skynet

We think of AI (artificial intelligence) as being digital, silicon-based; a computer program. But that’s not entirely true. Algorithms don’t have to be written in C or Python. Computers are the most efficient way to run algorithms, but they’re not the only ones…

Capitalism, as a weak AI, is built upon an unbearable abstraction — namely, the reduction of all value of problem-solving to a single criteria: the increasing of shareholder value. That is literally the only metric for success in capitalism. And therefore, to capitalism, anything that does not achieve that goal is either irrelevant or an impediment. That includes every other aspect of existence. Human happiness is not a metric of success for capitalism, or ecological diversity, or even the survival of life.